In Victorian England, writers wrestled with the poverty and injustices of unfettered capitalism. John Ruskin called on each captain of industry to look after their ship and crew. His book “Unto This Last” inspired Mahatma Gandhi to become a social activist. Other writers, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, called on workers to lose their chains, to rise up violently and make property serve the state instead of individuals. And then there is Charles Dickens, who calls us to love the misguided Scrooges of the world, the money-minded who forge heavy chains that weigh down their souls. Dickens calls us to raise our cups of Christmas cheer, to pray for those whose hearts are closed, that they and we may be blessed, all of us, every one.

Photo of the Cratchit family on Christmas Day, their cups raised high.
From the dress rehearsal of "Scrooge, The Musical" at Delaware Children's Theatre.
Photo copyright 2016; text, 2018, by Danny N. Schweers.